Too Soon...

This past July our sweet Maisy was diagnosed with what was assumed to be an aggressive and untreatable brain tumor. Although we knew her time left with us would likely be short she had been in remarkably good health and spirits. That is, until now. 

Then, about a week ago, she started to lose weight pretty drastically while simultaneously developing uncharacteristic anxiety. Her symptoms have gotten exponentially worse with each passing day. After staying up nearly all night with her shaking, pacing and panting, we decided (with the help of out veterinarian) to put her on a sedative and an SSRI to see if we can curb the symptoms of the tumor.  

I am emotionally and physically exhausted this morning. I was crying when Harper awoke, so I had to explain to Harper that Maisy is dying and we don't know how much longer she'll be with us. She drew me a picture of Maisy so I "won't be so sad when she's gone." What a great kid.

And what a great dog.

You Are Invited To A Science Hootenanny

Well, it's that time of year again. Get your party shoes on because, in just a couple of weeks Ms. Harper A. Booker will be FIVE years old! Holy bananas, where has the time gone?!?!?! I can't even start with the my baby is growing up because I'll just begin weeping and never stop.

Harper is set on a Science Hootenanny birthday party this year. There will be cake. There will be science. There will be a hootenanny or, as Harper says, "... a big dance party where people come from far and near." And this year is TWICE as festive because our dear friend Mimi, who has almost an identical birthday, will be celebrating with us. And speaking of people coming from near and far...

This year we've bucked tradition and will be holding the party at our farm in Dover, so as to accommodate all the expected sciencing and hootenannying. The specifics follow:

WHAT: Harper and Mimi's

Science Hootenanny Birthday Extravaganza

DATE: Sunday, October 25, 2015

TIME: 1:00 PM

WHERE: The Event Room at the

Florida Strawberry Growers Association

ADDRESS: 13138 Lewis Gallagher Road

Dover, FL 33527

BRING: A small potluck item. Sunscreen. A kite if you want to fly a kite. 

DO NOT BRING: A birthday gift. Seriously. Don't bring one. No one will. You won't be the only person not bringing a gift. I promise. If you have been so pressured into feeling like you MUST bring something or you are teaching your kids about giving then a handmade card would be lovely and enthusiastically appreciated. But nothing else. Got it? Thank you anyway.

OTHER: We typically have a loosey-goosey attitude regarding attendance to these kinds of things but, since this time we want to have actual planned activities for the kids, we'll need to do some actual planning in advance. As such, if you will have kids in attendance, please RSVP with a head count no later than Sunday, October 18th. 

SEE YOU THERE!

Pirate Invasion

Today our dear friends, Austen and Asher, celebrated their 5th birthday. As you can see, the festivities were overrun by pirate-related shenanigans. 

The handsome birthday boys!

Let's get this party started!

You don't say?

Austen's brows kill me!

Asher was very enthusiastic about the water activity.

My goofy girl.

Of course, there were martial arts...

... and introspection...

... followed by more martial arts.

There was also quite a bit of hydrodynamics data collection.

Verifying the results can be replicated.

Charming Asher!

And, what party isn't complete without mustaches?

Los hermanos bigotudos.

And, there were party horn festivities.

Pirate booty! 

Happy birthday to you!...

Everyone helped blow out the candles.

My kids were allover the cake.

They really made quite a spectacle of themselves.

Happy birthday, boys!

Thank you so much for letting us be a part of your special day!

Play Day

For the past couple of months I have been remiss in my blogging duties. Part of the problem is that I don't have an SD card adapter so I can't download photos from my camera to our new computer yet. That was an oversight on my part, but one is on order so the issue should be resolved shortly. The second issue is that Will's new thing is refusing to be on camera, and you can only take so many pictures of the back of someone's head and/or them sleeping before losing interest entirely. Well played, Will. Well played.

We headed out to the Children's Museum yesterday for some rainy day indoor fun. It was a nice break in our week. All the photos were taken with my phone, so the quality isn't great, but at least I got one of Will's sweet mug!

And another great shot at the back of Will's head. 

  

"But knocking it down is the BEST PART!"

Our future electrical engineer.

THERE are those baby blues!

My kids go to the museum to read...

... and read, and read, and read...

K2 cross-training.

Our beauty. (AND brains.)

Birthday Overload

Today we were lucky enough to have some friends join us at the Florida Railroad Museum to cap Will's birthday weekend. The old train runs up the track about 40 minutes and then returns to the station backwards. 

It was probably about twice as long as the kids could handle but it gave us time enjoy the picnic lunch we had packed and then chase increasingly bored kids up and down the aisles and through the adjoining cars. 

Our train!

Frick and Frack.

A real conductor collected our tickets.

Zoe was bursting with anticipation.

Birdie tried to upstage Mimi in every shot.

Gossiping.

Beautiful Mimi.

That smile!

Will spent the entire trip pacing up and down the aisle and avoiding the camera (please note the new train shirt especially for the occasion).

My precious girl.

The excursion proved to be much too long for some of the younger participants.

But Scott kept his sense of humor about him.

  

Thank you, Florida Railroad Museum!